A new app for the iPhone has been released which includes an unfair dismissal compensation calculator. The app is aimed at employers who want to find out how much they will have to pay. The app was designed by law firm MacRoberts and also contains links to Acas and the Equal Opportunities Commission as well as giving general legal information and advice. Graham Mitchell from the law firm has commented that the app was designed after listening to the needs of their clients who need up to date information on employment law. The calculator allows the user to input information such as age, length of service and salary to come up with a suitable compensation figure. While Mitchell admits that many variables are involved, they are able to make reasonable assumptions based on a few facts.

MPs are calling for the Financial Services Authority to make their review of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme a priority. The call was made by the treasury select committee in its report on competition in the banking sector. They are hoping for a response form the government, but it has been passed to to the FSA. The report states that the FSA is reviewing the FSCS and will conduct a consultation on compensation arrangements but that the FSA wants to wait until developments in Europe become clear before any decisions are made. The FSA has said that its review will continue from November this year after a one year suspension.

The insurance firm Aviva has recently released archives which indicate that Victorian Scots were just as keen to get compensation for their accidents as modern people are. The claims which date back to 1860 show a range of claims including one for a curling injury. In this case the claimant received £18. Another merchant received £66 after he was knocked down by a sledge in the snow. Meanwhile a cattle dealer received £500 for his eye injury and a man who got £42 after he hurt himself catching his fainting wife. Anna Stone from Aviva has commented that it is worth pointing out that the NHS did not exist at that time, so it was common to have insurance against injuries of this nature. She also points out that accidents such as slipping on ice seem to be just as common then as they are now.

One of the UK's largest insurance firms has been fined £770,000 for miss-selling Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). Around 340,000 clients are thought to have been affected and each will be entitled to a full refund and 8% compensation. It was found that Swinton had failed to make it clear that PPI was optional when taking out a credit agreement. Customers assumed it was a requirement. Most compensation payouts so far have been confined to banks, however insurance companies are now coming under scrutiny as well.

Businesses in Gloucester are asking for compensation after they were left with no broadband or phone services when a line was severed by a Severn Trent Water contractor. Two business owners have commented that they were forced to buy mobiles to cover the outage and could have lost business as a result. Some stores were also unable to process card transactions. The water company and BT have said that they are working together to keep disruption to a minimum.

A woman who complained about the care of her disabled daughter was offered just £500 worth of shopping vouchers by Hastings and Rother NHS by way of compensation. The woman had asked for £3,000 and was eventually awarded compensation after the health service ombudsman intervened. The woman complained that she had been promised a nurse three days a week to help look after her daughter who has epilepsy and she had been promised a wheelchair which she did not receive. The NHS trust have commented that they take all complaints seriously and that they have paid the agreed compensation.